“I have fifteen minutes, folks,” I explain as I enter the meeting room.
All four look nervous, even Adi, my senior lawyer. It’s his first time working directly with me. Yesterday the judge issued a warrant for Maria’s arrest. Our next visit will be in Bronzefield prison, just outside London. I take a seat at the front of the room and make myself comfortable.
Adi clears his throat. “We’re pursuing the claims that Maria was acting in self-defence. Maria wasn’t subject to a complete medical examination after informing the police that her husband applied physical violence with intent to kill. She was taken immediately to the police station, and a doctor wasn’t called until forty-eight hours later. We’ve been granted access to her hospital records. They clearly establish that Maria suffered deep bruising to the chest and, neck and a broken wrist.”
“So we’ve got a case for police misconduct?” I ask.
“We have the transcripts for the twenty-four hours following her arrest and the official police report. It’s evasive regarding why a full medical wasn’t established immediately. There was little attempt to ascertain whether there were signs of a struggle, either within the property or on Maria’s person,” Jacob explains.
I nod. “Sloppy or deliberate police work?”
Jacob shakes his head. “The evidence doesn’t tell us yet. Maria knew the officer in charge. She claims he has been taking bribes from her husband for years. If Maria is telling the truth, then it’s intentional police misconduct.”
My attention focuses on the captivating brunette in the corner. It’s been a week since I ambushed her date. Unless I make a concerted effort there is no reason our paths will cross, and I know she won’t instigate it.
I force my eyes away from her and back to the dossier Adi has set down in front of me.
“Do we have any evidence of bribery?” I ask, turning back to the team. “I’m assuming we have no police officers willing to testify.”
“Absolutely not,” Jacob confirms.
I flick through the brief until I find what I’m looking for. Maria told us she secretly recorded her husband discussing one of the girls, known as girl D. “What about Maria’s claims of the recording?”
“I’m pursuing that,” Lisa says. “We’ve expedited the request with the phone carrier to get the back-ups. The Colombian police won’t turn over Maria’s phone.”
“Okay.” I nod, scanning the brief. They’ve made good progress. “We have four weeks until the extradition hearing. Ed will email the date once it’s known. Keep looking until you find something we can pin Article 3 on.”
We need to prove that there is a real threat to life if Maria is expedited. So far, we don’t have enough.
“Anything else?” I ask, moving to the final pages of the dossier. “What are these notes?”
Adi leans over to see what I’m reading. “Ah, Elly was studying the transcripts and recommended we probe more into girl D with Maria.”
I look at her. “Why?”
She swallows nervously and pushes her glasses up her nose. “Maria said she never met girl D or any of the girls,” she explains, fidgeting with her hands. “She made a joke about her husband liking the girls feeble and petite so he could feel important. Photos of girl D have never been publicised and the police never questioned Maria about her. So it strikes me as strange that Maria knew she fit the description. I didn’t pick up on it until I listened to the transcripts a second time.”
She looks at me with bated breath, like I might laugh or shout her out of the room.
“Agreed, delve into it,” I confirm, and her shoulders relax. “We cannot have her withholding information.”
I do a final scan then close it. “Good report.”
Adi smiles at Elly. “Actually, Elly did the report. I only had to make minimal changes.”
She blushes. I remember she’s not good at accepting compliments or praise.
“Very good, well done, Elly. How are you settling in?”
“Good, Mr. Kane.” She shifts in her chair, clearly unappreciative of my attention before the team. “I’m supporting three cases including this one. Sophie is a good mentor.”
“Glad to hear it.” I turn to Adi. “Are we done for now?”
“Yes, sir,” Adi replies.
I nod, standing up. “Let’s meet again in two days. I’ll review the full brief by tomorrow.”
They expect me to stride out of the room. I have places I need to be, and Ed has my meetings lined up like dominos.
Instead, I linger as they pack up their laptops.
Still, she avoids eye contact although the deep blush on her cheeks tells me she feels the full weight of my gaze. She studies her laptop like it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen.
They follow me into the hall, Elly trailing behind. My senior lawyers have the good sense to address me on the way out.
Elly gives me a brief nod, making eye contact with my chin. She walks towards the back elevator at top speed while the others walk in the opposite direction.
“Elly, wait,” I call as she stabs the down button in rapid succession. The elevator opens and she disappears instead. What the fuck? I don’t expect my staff to ignore me.
I jam my foot in the elevator before the door can close. “Did you hear me?”
She looks up, startled.
“Mr. Kane.” Ed reaches the elevator bank, slightly out of breath. “You have a meeting in Canary Wharf in thirteen minutes, and it’s a twenty-minute car ride. George is waiting outside.”
For fuck’s sake, who is chasing who here? Why does he have to be so good at his job all the time?
“In a minute, Ed,” I grind out, stepping into the lift. “I’ll be back up to get my stuff.” I jab the close button on the panel before he can respond.
The door slides back open but not because of Ed.
“It’s full,” I growl at the poor paralegal in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“Sorry, sir,” he stammers, scuttling backwards.
I hit the button again and we ascend in the steel box filled with the sound of our ragged breaths. Elly stands as far away from me as any human possibly could in an elevator, pressing her body flat against the opposite chrome wall. She inspects the panel of buttons with meticulous detail.
“Look at me,” I say sharply. I have roughly twenty seconds for this elevator to descend twenty floors.
Her eyes slam into mine.
“You want me as much as I want you,” I say, my voice thick with months of pent-up sexual frustration. “I’ll make sure our relationship doesn’t reflect badly on you at Madison. Let me give you what you want.”
“There’s nothing between us.”
“Bullshit.” I slam my hand against the red button making the elevator jerk to a halt.
“What are you doing?” she stutters, blinking rapidly.
I take a step forward, closing the gap between us. I take another step into her personal space, cautiously, allowing her time to push me away.
I’m close enough to touch her now. Another step, and I’ll be close enough to lift up her dress, pull her pants to the side and bury myself deep inside her. My cock strains in my trousers.
“I need you so damn badly,” I say hoarsely.
“Why?” she asks, eyes wide.
“You’re everything I could ever want in a woman.”
My truthful answer seems to shock her.
“I’m not, Tristan,” she says almost sadly. “You don’t know everything about me.”
“Let me learn everything about you.”
She bites her lip as if my answer troubles her. “I can’t be just a fling.” She narrows her eyes. “I can’t handle that. It’s all or nothing.”
“I’ll take all,” I say without a second’s thought.
For a moment we just stare at each other. Then I’m on her, caging her with my arms as I push her against the wall of the elevator, thrusting my erection hard against her stomach. I lower myself slightly until my cock is centred into the apex of her legs. That’s the spot.
A small whimper escapes her lips as she throws her arms around my neck. Surrounding to her own lust.
Christ, I don’t know if I can handle this now it might finally be mine.
My open mouth comes down on hers and her lips open to let my tongue in. I explore her mouth hungrily, desperately, like a teenage boy having his first kiss. My hand finds the thick mass of her hair in the ponytail and frees it so it spills down her back.
Her hand slides down my thighs finding my thick swollen cock. She moans softly as she feels how hard I am for her. Her fingers curl around me from the outside of my trousers and I jerk. There’s too much fabric between us. I slam my hips into her, grunting into her mouth.
Her thighs part and she curls a toned leg around my waist, her dress riding up her thighs. I grab her thigh, yanking it tight around my waist so that I can line my hardness up directly with her pussy underneath the panties. I can feel she’s wet through the underwear. My dick pushes painfully against it. Too much fucking fabric.
She grinds against my hardness bringing herself close, little jerky moans echoing in the elevator.
I stare down, my forehead pressed tight against hers.
Elly’s lips part and she lets out a moan that makes me drop to my knees. I want to please this woman more than I’ve ever wanted to in my life.
Hoisting up her tailored dress, I roll the flimsy black lace knickers down her thighs. Her fingers curl into the roots of my hair and pull hard as I gently separate her thighs and find her clit with my tongue.
“Ah!” Her legs buck in my grasp, and I hold her steady. She releases another desperate moan that makes me wild.
Just as I think I’m going to get her there, Elly stiffens, staring down at me.
“I shouldn’t be doing this here,” she rasps, pushing me away.
I get to my feet, dazed as she yanks up her underwear and pulls down her dress.
“I’m late for a meeting,” she stutters, pushing past me to jab the panel. The elevator jerks to life again and she repeatedly presses the button for the next floor.
The doors slide open and I come to, realising I’m in the elevator of my company building trying to make my junior lawyer come. “Sorry,” I manage hoarsely. “I forgot where we were.”
She evacuates the elevator in a rush.
I draw in a frustrated breath and slam the button for the twentieth floor. I have twenty floors to steady both my throbbing cock and my hammering chest.
I need to get my belongings and work out how to make the twenty-minute journey to Canary Wharf in five minutes.
And more importantly, I need to figure out how to convince Elly Andric to put both of us out of our misery and give me a chance.
***
“How much do you want, Gemina?” I sigh heavily into the phone.
After the disaster of trying to get across London in traffic jams I don’t need this shit. I stare at the view of St. Pauls from my office and try to steady my breathing.
“Twenty should be fine,” she says quietly. Like she’s doing me a favour asking for only twenty thousand pounds.
My knuckles grip the side of the desk as I feel my temperature rise.
“You know he’s going through a hard time. Please, Tristan.”
I don’t know that. What I know is that Danny said he rented a private box at the Formula1 last week. My hands fly to my hair. I don’t want to talk about him.
God knows what they are doing with all this money. She’s had her healthy divorce settlement and receives excessive child maintenance for Daniel. The woman seems to haemorrhage money and has nothing to show for it. However, money is the only language we speak these days, so that’s how we communicate.
“The car will pick Daniel up at 9 a.m., Saturday.” I strain to keep my voice level. “Agreed?”
“Fine, Tristan. See you then.”
I hang up the phone, staring out at the London skyline. I spent years working to get this view. It means nothing now. If I lost it, I would recover eventually. But I won’t recover if I lose my son. That, I can be sure of.
I breathe through the tightness in my chest, suppressing the ball of stress rising from my stomach. I need to soothe my temper before Elly arrives. My stress ball. She doesn’t know how much I need this.
I knew she wouldn’t decline my meeting request for two reasons: one, rejecting a meeting with the CEO is career suicide and two, as much as she protests, Elly Andric can’t bring herself to stay away from me. Now, I’ve found a solution that she can’t refuse. It’s the only option I have other than selling the damn company so I’m no longer her boss.
I’ll talk in a language Elly is comfortable with. Not money talk. Law talk.
There’s a knock on the door that kicks my heart rate up a notch. I knew she would be punctual even if she wanted to play hard to get.
“Elly.” I smile at the intoxicating brunette closing the door. “Take a seat.” I resist the urge to surge towards her and kiss her.
She sits down, clutching her laptop bag to her chest like a shield.
“Drink?” I offer, walking to my cabinet.
“No.” She scowls. “It’s 4:30.”
I pour two Scotches and set one down in front of her.
She glares at me and pushes it away. “Sophie wants me to be back at my desk in twenty minutes to finish something.”
She’s guarded again. It was only hours ago that we were dry humping each other in a lift and she was opening her thighs so I could eat her out.
Instead of taking a seat behind my desk, I lean on the desk directly in front of her, spreading my feet wide.
She squirms, crossing and uncrossing her legs. It makes her dress ride up, revealing more of the shapely thighs underneath. My hands tighten around the edge of the desk.
She looks at me, aghast.
“What?” I frown.
“There’s a stain on your shirt.”
I look down at my collarbone. There’s a small patch of evidence from when I was on my knees. It’s barely visible. “I don’t think anyone will be able to figure out you caused that.” I smile but she looks dismayed.
Her forehead creases and I sense she is fretting about earlier.
“It’s okay,” I assure her. “What happens between us stays between us.”
“I didn’t mean for things to go so far. I got carried away.”
“I can’t say I regret what happened, far from it but I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”
When she stays silent, I hand her the white paperwork on the desk. “I’m hoping this will allow you to rethink your decision.”
She frowns. “What is it?”
“It’s a non-disclosure agreement,” I state simply. “Between us, me and you.”
She stares up at me in disbelief. “Why am I signing an NDA?”
“It’s a mutual NDA. We’ll both sign,” I explain. “I already have. You’ve made it clear your objection to dating me is based on my position in the company and the threat to your reputation.”
Her eyes narrow. “And the fact I’m not sure I trust you.”
“We can work on the trust issue.”
She anchors her gaze on the paperwork, skim-reading the pages.
“This will give you the protection you need,” I say confidently. “Page ten has my obligations. You’ll want to ingest the details yourself, but I’ll summarise for you. In the scenario that an employee of Madison Legal obtains information about our relationship causing your reputation to come into question, I’m liable to pay damages to you of a sum of up to 150 thousand pounds.”
Her jaw hits the floor.
“To cover professional reputation damage,” I add. “That’s your trainee contract salary covered and a bit more if you choose to leave. Does that appease you, Elly?”
“Let me get this straight,” she starts slowly, looking at me like I’ve grown an extra head. “If I go on a date with you and someone from Madison finds out, you will give me 150k in compensation?”
“Up to 150k. If it’s one of the cleaners at Madison, there might be a negotiation,” I say dryly. 150k is just enough to give her a security blanket and not enough to make her a fool not to take it.
She gapes at me. “Why?”
“Why?” I repeat, amused. “Because of this. The fact that you’re considering it.”
She shakes her head in disbelief. “Our three-day fling was worth 150 thousand pounds?”
I chuckle. “I think I’ve spent more than that in all the minutes I’ve thought about you.”
She opens her mouth and closes it. It seems I’ve blindsided her with this one.
Her brows form a deep frown as she studies the wording on page ten. “I feel like a hooker.” She snorts.
“That’s not the intention.”
“Has this NDA been developed by Madison Legal lawyers?” she gasps. “Oh my God, lawyers in the company know?”
“No. My personal lawyer produced it. The same one I used for my divorce. I don’t put personal matters through the company. For the same reason as you, Elly, I need discretion. I don’t need my staff to know my personal business.” I tap my fingers on the table, waiting.
She studies my face.
“Have you heard of the new restaurant, Asha’s?” I ask, watching her fight fade away.
“You are fucking nuts,” she says under her breath.
It’s not a no.
“As an apology for what happened with my ex-wife,” I coax. “You don’t even have to talk to me. You can sit at another table and the only person you need to talk to is the waiter.”
She’s wavering. Apprehension flickers in her eyes followed by something else, excitement perhaps. “I can’t be one of many.”
“I’m not asking you to be one of many.”
“Fine,” she whispers. “One date.”
“Tonight, Elly,” I murmur, excitement swelling in my stomach and lower down. “I’ll collect you at eight.”
